Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to imaging, and, in particular, to the analysis of imaging information associated with a money transfer client.
Money transfers present a convenient way to quickly transfer monetary funds over great distances. These transfers allow, for example, a sender to pay cash to an agent of a money transfer business and specify to whom the money will be transferred. The recipient may take distribution of the money, that may occur almost instantaneously, at the same or a different agent location. The agent location where the recipient takes distribution of the money may be in a different city, state, or country than the location from which the sender transmitted the funds. The ability to send large and small amounts of money, including cash, quickly over great distances naturally results in a small percentage of users attempting to exploit such a system for illicit purposes. Further, it may be possible that while the sender realizes the money will be used for illicit purposes, the initial recipient may be unaware the money is intended for such purposes. The reverse situation also may be true: the sender believing she is participating in a legitimate transaction, unaware of the unlawful intentions of the recipient. Of course, in some instances, both parties may be aware of the illegal nature of their transaction.
This minority of users may attempt to use the system to transfer drug money, money for terrorist activities, money to fund gang wars, or countless other illegal or immoral purposes. Further, these users may attempt to conceal the fact that they are using the money transfer system for illicit purposes, making it harder to detect and prevent the transaction. Currently, information that may be collected during a money transfer may be information necessary to identify the recipient and information required by law. Gathering more information on the sender and/or on the recipient, such as their facial expressions, state of mind or current mood, may allow for a more accurate determination of whether the sender, recipient, or both are attempting to use the money transfer system for illicit purposes. This invention serves to remedy these and other problems.